The acquisition will create a tax-focused wealth management company with about $60 billion in total client assets. Blucora is tapping its credit line for $125 million of the purchase, while using cash on hand for the remainder.

Blucora is the parent company of independent broker-dealer HD Vest and TaxAct, the widely used tax preparation software. In 2018, TaxAct was used by 3.7 million consumers to e-file their taxes and on another 1.8 million returns completed by tax professionals using the software.

Blucora, which had about 530 employees before the acquisition, said it considers the deal to be strategic because both companies "believe that every financial and investment decision, at its core, is a tax decision."

1st Global, which serves about 850 advisers, provides similar services and bills itself as the No. 2 tax-focused independent broker-dealer, based on total revenue, right behind HD Vest. 1st Global specializes in working with large, multipartner accounting firms, while HD Vest focuses on turning individual tax preparers into wealth advisers.

"Big picture, this acquisition is right in our wheelhouse and has important attributes that make it both strategically and financially attractive," John Clendening, president and CEO of Blucora, said on a conference call discussing the deal.

The acquisition is expected to increase Blucora's earnings before taxes and other items by up to $24 million by the end of the year.

"This transaction is in line with our strategy to accelerate growth and deliver enhanced results to shareholders," Clendening said.

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Blucora, formed in 1996, closed out 2018 with $560.5 million in revenue, a 10 percent increase over the prior year. Its profit rose 36 percent to $94 million. Blucora moved its corporate headquarters from Bellevue, Wash., to Irving in 2017.

If approved by regulators, Blucora said the company expects the deal to close in the second quarter of 2019.

Dom DiFurio. Dom is a staff writer covering breaking business news. He writes about the companies and transactions that shape life in North Texas. Dom considers himself among the many transplants that moved to Texas from the crowded coasts who found more than enough reasons to call it home.